


Hero

by soldiermom1973



Series: 1,000 years (A Reconciliation Story) [18]
Category: Mass Effect (Comics), Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect - Various Authors, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, N7 month, Ny Month 2019, Shenko - Freeform, hero - Freeform, migraines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-12 22:42:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21484039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973
Summary: Allie Shepard is, by all accounts, a hero.  It isn't a title she's overly fond of, but one she happily gives to the man she loves.
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Allie Shepard, Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard
Series: 1,000 years (A Reconciliation Story) [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1460416
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Hero

**Author's Note:**

> For [N7 Month](https://n7month.tumblr.com/post/188450175349/n7-month-challenge) over on tumblr, the prompt was 'hero'.

HERO (_heer_-oh)  
1\. A person noted for courageous acts of nobility or character; 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal

If anyone was a textbook definition of the word 'hero', it would be Colonel Allie Lynn Shepard. She would disagree, even after being reminded of her accomplishments – saving the colony on Elysium, taking down Saren, saving the Council and delaying the Reaper invasion, stopping the Collectors, curing the genophage, ending the Morning War and brokering peace between the quarians and geth... When someone would start to rattle off why she was a hero, she would sigh, press her lips together, and remind whomever was speaking that she didn't work alone. There were only a scant handful of times she had to do a mission solo and those were so highly classified no one knew about them anyway. Like Joker admitting he was the best pilot in the fleet, Allie could have easily said she was the best soldier in the Alliance and no one would have batted an eye. Certainly none of the hundreds of people who were gathered at the commemoration event celebrating the tenth anniversary of the end of the Reaper War.

Kaidan watched from the wings with some of the Normandy's crew - Joker was with him, as was Traynor, Vega, Cortez, and a few other crew members who served on the Normandy under Allie's leadership. Allie stood right next to him, their fingers interlaced. Every few minutes, she'd give his hand a squeeze. He returned the gesture, knowing it was her way of grounding herself as speaker after speaker talked about their war experience, the small part they played in ending the Reaper cycle. Every single person, though, mentioned how Allie inspired them, gave them the determination to not give up even when it seemed like all hope had been lost. 

When he glanced at her, her mouth was pressed into a thin line. She really hated these types of events, hated the attention that came with them. As far as she was concerned, she had a job to do. She did it. That was it, end of discussion. She made the comment once that she only showed up to these things because Admiral Hackett gave her a standing order – the only reason she could get away with not showing up was if she was extremely ill, on a mission, or dead.

When the last speaker had their say and the applause died down, Hackett started introducing the crew. Allie insisted on that part because it hadn't been just her fighting. It wasn't just her war. She was adamant about the fact she couldn't have accomplished anything if it hadn't been for the people on her crew and demanded they get the same recognition she did.

When they announced Kaidan's name, he kissed the back of her hand before walking out onto the stage. Allie's name was always called last and it never took long to remind him why – the applause and cheers were deafening and took several minutes to die down. He watched her walk on stage – head held high, back ramrod straight, a smile on her face as she waved to the crowd as they chanted her name.

It wasn't her happy smile, though. Not the one that followed her laughter when Vega told a joke. Not the one that came when she rolled her eyes at Joker's sass. And definitely not the one she flashed him when she caught him staring at her. No, this was her professional smile. The one she wore because she had to. The one she wore when she didn't want other people to know just how unhappy she was.

Kaidan knew her better than that, though. He knew when the accolades were done, the cameras and microphones put away, when things calmed down and it was just the two of them, she'd wrap her arms around his waist, sigh, and give him one of her _real_ smiles. The ones that made his heart melt. The ones that made him fall in love with her all over again. He was counting down the hours until he could get her alone to get one of those smiles.

In the meantime, there were more speeches, more awards, more recognition. Photographs, interviews, flashbulbs, autographs. Kaidan's head was reeling and he felt a familiar pressure start to build at his amp. He swore under his breath and rolled his neck, something that had Allie at his side in an instant.

“Are you ok?” she asked, studying his face. “You're getting a migraine, aren't you.”

It wasn't a question – she knew him well enough to know the subtle changes in his behavior that meant his day was going to go downhill in a hurry. “Kaidan, come on,” she said, linking their arms together, “let's get you out of here and head home.”

Kaidan still felt well enough to mingle for a bit longer, but he knew if he did, the pain would be unbearable before they were able to get home. Part of him felt bad for pulling Allie away from everyone, but part of him knew she didn't mind in the least. She always told him he was more important to her than anything, especially when it came to stuff like this ceremony.

He nodded his head, and they zigzagged their way across the room, saying their good-byes and offering apologies for the early exit. To her crew and friends, she promised them a get-together the next day to celebrate. Then she and Kaidan ducked into his skycar and headed back to the apartment.

By the time they got in the door, Kaidan was feeling more than a little nauseous. He had blind spots in his vision and the pressure at his amp was almost enough to make him cry. He didn't fight or argue when Allie led him upstairs, helped him undress, and got him in the shower. She massaged his back and shoulders, knowing he carried a lot of tension in those muscles and she always thought easing it might help the pain. It seldom did, but he loved her for trying.

She made him stay in the bathroom while she turned off the lights in the apartment, save a softly lit floor lamp in the far corner of her bedroom. She sat up in the bed and he curled himself against her, nestling his head against her chest. She played with his hair, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was little. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat and the regular rise and fall of her chest gave him something to focus on other than the pain swelling in his head. Allie offered to get him some meds, but he refused because he hated how they made him feel once the pain subsided.

Every few minutes, the throbbing would intensify and his whole body would tense. Allie paused her ministrations, nestle her cheek on his head, and make sure he was ok. “You know, you're my hero,” she whispered as the played with his hair.

He hummed and nestled against her tighter. “Why?” he asked.

“Because of this,” she murmured. 'You've lived with this incredible pain for most of your life but you don't let it keep you down. You would have every right to stay home, curl in a corner, and not do a damn thing, but you somehow power through. You being like this actually helped me when I was in the hospital after the war.”

“Really?” he asked. Talking hurt. A lot. But he needed to know what she was trying to tell him.

“Mm hmm,” she said, lightly scraping her nails along his back. “When things got really tough, when I was in so much pain I wanted to die, I thought about you and your migraines and how you just... you just did what you needed to do. My mom used to get them and when she did, she couldn't function. All she could do was stay in a dark room and try to sleep. But you... Kaidan the fact that you can do the things you do when your head feels like it's going to explode is nothing short of amazing.”

Kaidan smiled and made a happy noise. There was something about hearing the woman he loved, a hero by any definition, refer to him as _her_ hero that made his heart soar.


End file.
